


Jolene

by silentwhisper002



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Gladion Gets Jealous of Serena, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, M/M, Malasadas, Panic Attacks, Self-Esteem Issues, Serena has a Crush on Ash Still
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23556895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentwhisper002/pseuds/silentwhisper002
Summary: Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, JoleneI'm begging of you, please don't take my man.An old friend of Ash returns, and Gladion's self esteem decides to go down the drain.Set six years after the events of Ultra Legends.An angsty fic with a happy ending.
Relationships: Gladio | Gladion/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 6
Kudos: 150





	Jolene

“Gladion, meet, Serena!”

Gladion eyed the honey-haired haired trainer warily, before offering her a small smile of greeting. “Welcome to Alola.” He said.

“Serena is the Ultra cool gal who traveled with me in the Kalos region!” Ash exclaimed.

Serena giggled at his introduction. “Oh, Ash, you haven’t changed one bit have you?”

Gladion simply nodded in acknowledgment. He was too lost in his headspace to fully pay attention to the conversation. He wasn't sure as to what it was, but something felt off with this girl. The minute he’d seen her walking up the road with Ash, Gladion had gotten the feeling he was in some sort of danger. He didn’t like it one bit.

“So I was thinking,” Ash was saying, “that we could show Serena all the best places on Mele Mele and—huh? Gladion? You listening?”

“What?”

Ash was leaning near his face, searching his eyes for any sign of attention. 

“I said, I was thinking we could show Serena around.” He repeated.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Gladion responded, not at all looking forward to spending his day with a stranger.

“Is something wrong?” Serena asked softly, seeming to pick up on his anxiety.

“No. I’m just…tired.”

Ash put his hands on his hips and glared at his boyfriend. “Did you get hit with Nightmare again? I’ve told ya over and over, you gotta stand off to the side when you’re trainin', not right in the middle of it!”

Before Gladion could respond, Serena butted in. “Don’t be a hypocrite, Ash! I seem to remember the numerous times you were all burnt out of shape by Pikachu’s Thunderbolt!”

“Haha! Guess you’re right.” Ash laughed in a sheepish manner. 

They continued making their way into town, Serena and Ash lost in conversation of past days and present situations, while Gladion remained silent beside them. 

He studied Serena as they walked, noticing every movement she made. The way she’d lean in closer, laugh at everything he said, the blush that bloomed at every compliment he gave her, it made his blood boil.

_“Is…Is this what jealousy feels like?”_

“Oh, Man! Malasadas!” Ash broke him from his trance. 

“Huh?” He barely had time to react as the younger boy grabbed his hand, and dragged him over to the sweet smelling stand. 

“I want some! Come on!”

“O-Okay.”

Gladion watched with adoration as Ash engaged in an animated conversation with the sales person. Any time the Champion could get his hands on a sweet, he wouldn’t waste a single moment.

“Ash and his pastries.”

He jumped when Serena suddenly appeared beside him. 

“I swear some things never change. He’s always had a sweet tooth. If I had a dime for everytime I chased him out of the kitchen while I was baking, I’d have a fortune.”

_“Great. So she can bake too.”_

“Old habits die hard.” was the only response he offered. 

“I’m back!” Ash’s loud voice interrupted the small talk, if you would even call it that. “I got one for each of us! To think, Serena, you’re such a great baker, but you’ve never tried a Malasada!”

“If I like it, I’ll have to add them to my menu!”

“Awesome!” He cheered, distributing the warm treats to each. “I managed to snag the last honey for you, Gladion. I know they’re your favorite.”

Gladion’s eyes widened at the gesture. “You actually remembered? Wow, Ketchum, I’m impressed.”

“Hey! I may be forgetful about some things, but not everything!”

“I’d wouldn’t be surprised if you forget your own name sometimes.” Serena teased. “I swear, every piece of advice I ever gave you went in one ear and out the other. Like that one time…”

 _“There they go again.”_ Gladion glowered to himself. _“Don’t mind me, I’ll just be here I guess…third wheeling with my own boyfriend.”_

When Ash said he had a _friend_ for Gladion to meet, he thought the Champion had maybe caught a new Pokemon, but what to his wondrous eyes should appear? An old companion of his whom, _very clearly,_ had a huge crush on said Champion.

He began to feel smaller and smaller with every passing moment of their conversations. She seemed to know him well, inside and out almost. 

She was bubbly, friendly, and not to mention, very pretty. Serena was a world famous star that everyone idolized. 

She was all the things Gladion wasn’t. 

He wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of this day, Ash forgot all about him. 

He glanced over at the pair again. 

Ash had his arm slung around her shoulder, both laughing at some corny joke he’d probably made. 

He looked genuinely happy standing next to her. 

Gladion began to wonder what the reaction might be if the positions were flipped, and it was just the two of them carrying on. Would he still have that bright smile on his face? The same boisterous, yet brilliant laugh?

Thoughts of doubt began to gather like storm clouds in his mind, and he knew if he didn’t remove himself from the situation, he’d fall apart. 

“Ash.” Gladion’s voice was stiff and strained.

“Yeah?” Ash turned to look at the blonde who’d stopped a few strides behind him. “Gladion? Are you okay?”

“I…I need to go.”

“What? But you’ve only just—“

“I know.” He cut the other off. “But I really, _really_ have to go.”

“Gladion…”

“It was nice meeting you, Serena. Have a nice day.” 

Without wasting another moment, Gladion turned on his heel and swiftly made his exit, ignoring his boyfriend's worried yelling. Half of him hoped Ash would chase after him, but the other half knew he wouldn’t ditch his friend.

 _“Like the stunt_ you _just pulled?”_ a voice sneered in the back of his mind. 

_“Get out.”_

_“It doesn’t matter,”_ it continued, _“They’re probably having a grand old time without you.”_

_“Stop it!”_

_“What? I’m only telling the truth. You know I’m right.”_

_“I SAID GET OUT!”_

He broke into a run, not bothering to care where he was going. 

* * *

When his breath finally ran out, Gladion found himself doubled over on the sandy shores of the Marina, gasping for air.

_“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.”_

He felt the panic slowly bubbling up to the surface, clouding his vision. 

_“She’ll take him.”_ The voice taunted. _“She’ll take him far, far away and you’ll never see him again.”_

_“Please, no. Please don’t take him from me.”_

_“What can you do about it?”_ The fear coiled itself around him, like an Arbok seizing it’s prey. _“You ran away remember?”_

_“No. Stop.”_

_“You’re no good for him. Look at you. You can barely take care of yourself.”_

He struggled against imaginary binds, begging his body to break free of this trance. 

And then the voices closed in.

 _“Gladion.”_ It was his mother

_“Gladion.”_

His sister.

_“Gladion.”_

His father.

_“Gladion.”_

His friends.

Each one taunting him, their backs turned.

_“Gladion!”_

_“No. Please, not you too.”_

_“Gladion!”_

_“Not him too.”_

“GREAT ARCEUS, GLADION! COME ON! SNAP OUT OF IT!”

Gladion’s eyes flashed open, and he drew in a gasping breath. 

His gaze slid back behind him, focusing on the fuzzy outline of familiar brown eyes.

“…Ash?”

“Oh thank goodness…” Ash released a sigh of relief. “Ya scared me for a moment.”

“What…are you doing here? Where’s…?” Gladion searched for the cause of his panic, but came up empty handed.

“Who, Serena?”

He nodded.

“Oh, she went back to the Pokemon Center. I told her we could hang out another time. I wanted to make sure you were okay first. She says she hopes you feel better by the way. You worried both of us.”

_“He…worries about me?”_

“What happened to you?”

“I…I saw…” He couldn’t even bring himself to say it. 

“It’s okay.” Ash assured him. “Take your time. Here, why don’t we sit down, you look really pale.”

Gladion collapsed onto the beach, using the soft feel of the sand between his fingers to ground himself. 

Ash cautiously took the spot beside him, waiting patiently for the older boy to speak. 

“I saw how happy the two of you were.” He finally admitted.

“Yeah? So? We haven’t seen each other in what? Five? Six years? Of course I’m going to be happy to see her.”

“No.” Gladion grew slightly frustrated that he didn’t understand. For _once_ in his life could Ash not be so dense?

“She made you… _happy.”_

“I—Oh. _Oh_.”

Gladion hid his face away as his boyfriend finally put the pieces together.

Suddenly, Ash started to laugh. 

Gladion could feel his heart shatter as he braced himself for the blow that was sure to break him. 

“Gladion, I don’t like Serena that way. I don’t like _girls_ that way, period."

“Huh? But I saw how she was with you…she—”

“You mean that stupid crush she has? Yeah, I know about that. She tried to kiss me once at an airport. I had to stop myself from vomiting ‘cause that wouldn’t have been very nice.”

“…”

“I mean, sure, hanging out with Serena is always fun.” He continued. “She’s really great if you get to know her, and we never fail to have a good time together. But to tell you the truth, I’d much rather be hanging out with _you_.”

“Really?”

“Really! Serena is Ultra cool, but you’re…you’re _Giga_ cool. Like, _Gigavolt Havoc_ cool! That’s on a whole ‘nother level, yeah!”

Gladion couldn’t help but laugh at his little Ash-isms.

“Gladion, I wouldn’t trade you for the world. You could hand me every Champion title there is to offer on a silver platter and I’d still say no if it meant getting to spend the rest of my time with you. Serena’s just an old friend. You’re the most important thing in my life.”

“……”

“Besides ice cream of course.”

“You idiot.” 

Ash grinned at his achievement of finally getting a reaction.

“Yeah. But I’m _your_ idiot.”

“You’d better be.”

“Always.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The product of 1am productivity.


End file.
